MANILA, Philippines – The peso dipped against the dollar midday Thursday, settling at 43.65 from the previous day’s 43.585. Total volume transacted at the Philippine Dealing System amounted to $291.5 million in the morning, lower than the $413.8 million posted the same period on Wednesday. The peso opened Thursday at 43.63.
MANILA, Philippines – Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) stands to benefit from a P65-billion mass transit infrastructure project that will be awarded to conglomerates Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and Ayala Corp. (AC). The real estate arm of the Ayala conglomerate will introduce a retail concept in railway stations while additional Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects will improve access to its properties, an official leading AC’s infrastructure businesses said. “ALI is our retail partner, the leasing partner,” Noel Eli B. Kintanar, executive vice-president of AC Infrastructure, said in a briefing. The assets up for redevelopment into commercial areas are part of the concession agreement for the P65-billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1) Cavite extension project, Kintanar said. Specifically, there are plans to put up shopping centers or district mall concepts in LRT-1 stations, he said. Early last month, the Light Rail Manila Consortium formed by MPIC and AC offered to pay a P9.35-billion premium for the PPP mass transit project. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The LRT-1 Cavite extension project would increase the span of Line 1 to 32.4 kilometers from 20.7 km with a new south endpoint in Niog, Bacoor, Cavite. Approximately 10.5 km of the Cavite extension system would be elevated while 1.2 km would be at grade level. The government, which will award the 32-year concession to the consortium this month, has set aside P30 billion to acquire up to 39 new light rail vehicles. Kintanar said a retail concept could be Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The SM Group’s BDO Unibank Inc., the nation’s top lender, is accelerating its branch expansion program with its purchase of Quezon City-based thrift bank The Real Bank Inc. BDO told the Philippine Stock Exchange that it has agreed to acquire all recorded assets and assume all liabilities of The Real Bank. “The acquisition is in line with our objective to accelerate branch expansion in underserved areas,” BDO president and CEO Nestor Tan said. The Real Bank has a deposit base of P7.2 billion and operates 24 branches in Metro Manila and Luzon. Established in 1976 as Real Savings and Loans Association Inc. (RSLAI), it opened as a single-branch bank in Cainta, Rizal and rebranded as The Real Bank in 1994 by a group of investors led by realty developer Jose Acuzar. Its branches are strategically located in Metro Manila and major growth centers in Bulacan, Pampanga, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, and Rizal. Total resources stood at P8.115 billion as of end-June 2013, a more than three-fold increase from P2.39 billion in 2003. The thrift bank offers micro-financing support to the small and medium enterprise market, housing and auto loan products. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 BDO, meanwhile, has one of the largest distribution networks in the country with more than 800 operating branches and over 2,300 ATMs nationwide. It also has a branch in Hong Kong as well as 13 overseas remittance and representative offices in Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East. Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – State-run Philippine National Railways (PNR) is set to revive the 422-kilometer Bicol Express train service in September or almost two years after its operations was suspended due to a derailment incident in Sariaya, Quezon. Joseph Allan Dilay, general manager of PNR, said the government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) is looking at restoring its train services to Legaspi, Albay by September after a successful trial run last month. Since the revival of its operation in June of 2011, the Bicol Express line service catered to some 2,000 to 3,000 passengers weekly. The highest ridership recorded during peak travel seasons such as Holy Week, All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day, and Christmas season. However, the operation of Bicol Express has been stalled following a derailment incident in Sariaya, Quezon in October 2012 that injured nine passengers. Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya suspended the train service and ordered a full investigation on the derailment of Bicol Express Train 611. The train was carrying 120 passengers when the derailment occurred. Abaya said the revival of the Bicol Express service would hinge on the findings of the CPCS Transcom Ltd. of Canada. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “I for one, if I would only look at the economic side of the project would have given it a go signal. However, I am mindful of safety so I have given specific instructions not to run the service unless someone could certify that it is safe,” Abaya earlier said. Aside Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The property development arm of Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV) is increasing its capital spending this year as it takes advantage of robust growth in both residential development and industrial projects. In a statement, Aboitiz Land Inc. said it allotted a capital expenditure budget of P5.4 billion in 2014, up 35 percent from P4 billion a year ago as it sets its sights on expanding nationwide. “We remain bullish on the property sector and want to enter the market nationally,” said AboitizLand president and CEO Andoni Aboitiz. More than half of the capital spending is allocated for residential development, while the rest will go to industrial and commercial projects. “Apart from the existing landbank in Cebu, (the company) is now looking at gaining a foothold in Mindanao through residential and industrial developments in Davao City,” AboitizLand said. For Luzon, after its initial entry through the acquisition of Lima Techonology Center in Batangas, AboitizLand said it is now looking at venturing into residential and commercial developments in Mega Manila in the medium term. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Our vision is not just to build, but to establish thriving communities where we are located,” Aboitiz said. Infrastructure development is also increasingly becoming part of its portfolio as it looks at more Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects, particularly more airport and tollroad projects, Aboitiz said. AboitizLand and Ayala Corp., through joint venture unit Team Orion, topped the recent bidding for the P35.4-billion Cavite-Laguna Expressway. Team Orion Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Dominant carrier and multimedia service provider Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is spending $2 million to double the international bandwidth capacity of the $500 million Asia-America Gateway (AAG) cable system linking the Philippines directly to the US. PLDT president and chief executive officer Napoleon Nazareno said the upgrade to the 100G per wavelength technology would allow PLDT to support more industry requirements as well as further enhance the quality of experience of customers. “With the deployment of 100G technology in this international link, we will be able to extract more capacity out of our existing fiber cables and support the delivery of high-bandwidth services and applications. This will give our customers the benefits of a much faster and resilient global transport network,” he said. The additional investments would double the current bandwidth capacity of the only transpacific cable that directly links Southeast Asia and the Philippines to the US mainland. PLDT was a lead investor with $50 million out of the $500 million AAG Cable System running 20,000 kilometers of high-bandwidth optical fiber linking Southeast Asia directly to the US. The AAG consortium consists of 19 parties providing connectivity between the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Hong Kong SAR, Guam, Hawaii and the US West Coast and seamless interconnection with other major cable systems connecting Europe, Australia, other parts of Asia and Africa and using Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology to provide upgradeable, future-proof transmission facilities for telecommunications traffic. Business ( Article MRec Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Power, energy and gas technology leader Shell, together with global consultants Booz & Co., studied more than 500 urban centers across the globe and gathered data on how cities have been utilizing energy. The results pointed to six illustrative archetypes indicating where energy use is most concentrated and where future urbanization is set to take place. The findings, published in a report titled New Lenses on Future Cities, show energy use currently concentrated in two of the six city archetypes: sprawling metropolises like Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, and prosperous communities such as Dubai and Stockholm. These cities have relatively low-density and high per capita GDP, and are typically found in the United States and Europe. Urban powerhouses, the third archetype characterized by high population densities and high individual incomes, are also heavy energy users. However, their share of global consumption is modest by comparison as only a few cities belong in this archetype, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and New York. Developing mega-hubs like Hyderabad and Chongqing, and underprivileged crowded cities such as Manila and Bangalore are relatively light energy users at present. But while these cities have low individual incomes and medium to high populations, most of them will join the next wave of urbanization as they become more prosperous. Their growing energy demand will shape global levels of energy use, making their development choices critical. Underdeveloped urban centers, the most common archetype, are low energy users — accounting for only 11 percent of total Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – More visits of high ranking officials from Canada are likely to be made in the coming months in line with promoting greater ties with the Philippines. “Over the past years, our bilateral relationship with the government of the Philippines has become stronger and I think in the coming months, you will see more visits by senior Canadian leadership looking to pick some of the good aspects of the potential,” Canada’s political counsellor for the Philippines Jamie Christoff said during the Canada Day Fair 2014 held yesterday. Christoff noted that the existing people-to-people relations between the two countries provide a platform to expand ties. At present, the Philippines has the largest number of immigrants to Canada, which stands at 700,000. Christoff said both countries recognize there are opportunities to strengthen ties. Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (CanCham) president Julian Payne said in the same event the business community is interested in promoting greater trade as well as investment ties between the two countries. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Payne said there have been several business missions from Canada visiting the country in line with the aim of increasing trade and investment flows between the two parties. “There have been a number of missions and we can expect to see more,” he said. A trade mission composed of firms engaged in agribusiness is expected to arrive in the country sometime this year. The CanCham is also organizing an outbound mission composed of 20 Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has extended an additional P690-million loan to the local government of Camarines Sur to support the various development programs of the province. Specifically, the financial assistance would be used to fund P300 million worth of infrastructure projects. Another P200 million would also fund the construction of a food terminal while P100 million would finance Internet-based curriculum and connectivity of public schools. The loan would also finance various tourism development initiatives worth P50 million and for the completion of various priority projects worth P41.9 million. DBP previously financed various infrastructure, school buildings and facilities, mini-hospital/ health centers, IT park and tourism projects of the LGU, including the world-renowned Camarines Sur Water Sports Complex and Gota Beach Resort in Caramoan Island. The assistance to the Camarines Sur LGU earned for the DBP the Most Outstanding Local Economic Development Project award from the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific in 2011. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 It also catapulted Camarines Sur into the country’s top tourist destination from 2009-2010. In April this year, DBP also granted a P268.502-million loan to the Camarines Sur IV Electric Cooperative (Casureco IV) to partially finance its capital expenditure requirements that will lead to the improvement of the distribution system’s capacity, efficiency, reliability and safety. The project will also address the load requirement of new customers, overloading of transformers, and dilapidated kilowatt-hour meters. The DBP loan will also be used Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Fifteen small banks are set to merge and consolidate as of end-June this year. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said these applications were approved by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. and are currently being processed by the central bank. These deals were made under the BSP and PDIC’s Strengthening Program for Rural Banks Plus, to encourage mergers and acquisitions among rural and thrift banks, and also to weed out problematic banks. The program dangles incentives to investors for them to rescue ailing banks to minimize bank closures and by its name, strengthen the small lenders in the industry. “In addition, there are five other applications for consolidation and acquisition in the pipeline,” Tetangco said. The SPRB Plus, which will be in place until the end of the year, provides white knights or strategic third party investors financial assistance, regulatory reliefs, and branching and other incentives once they rescue problematic banks. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Last year, 18 banks were ordered closed and placed under the receivership of the PDIC. Central bank data showed the number of head offices last year slid to 673, although bank branches continued to expand to 9,262. This was a result of continued consolidations and the exit of weaker lenders, the BSP said. “The Philippine rural banking sector continues to grow and expand… even as natural calamities devastated wide areas in the Visayas (late last year),” Tetangco said. The rural banking sector has increased Read More …